Illinois Poetry

1 total work

Peasants Wake for Fellini's *Casanova* and Other Poems

by Andrea Zanzotto, John P. Welle, and Ruth Feldman

Published 1 April 1997

This marvelously astute translation of Andrea Zanzotto's poetry brings one of Italy's greatest contemporary poets to English for the first time in over twenty years. The main body of this volume is a unique film poem that grew out of Zanzotto's collaboration with Federico Fellini on the film Casanova. The poem's beauty is enhanced by its presentation in the original Veneto dialect, along with contemporary Italian and English. With reference to Finnegans Wake and utilizing Fellini-inspired myth, the tri-lingual play of the poetry is rich in layers, rich in meanings. Including drawings by Fellini and illustrations by Murer, this volume also contains poems dedicated to Montale, Pasolini, and Charlie Chaplin--and the first English translation of Zanzotto's poetry on the tragedy of Bosnia-- all together in an unusual and beautiful format.

Supported by the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, Collegeof Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame